The invention relates to a sunroof or the like with an opening surrounded by a roof frame, said opening being closable by a slidable and/or tiltable rigid cover, said cover being guided swivelably on both sides in the vicinity of its rear edge and possibly also slidable along the roof frame by means of guide elements, said guide elements being engaged by the ends of an incompressible cable connected to a drive means.
Sliding covers of motor vehicle sunroofs are generally slid by means of two incomprssible cables, said cables each having one end attached to the rear guide elements of the sliding cover and running parallel to one another in the vicinity of the forward edge of the roof opening, whereby the drive means, for example a pinion driven by a hand crank or an electric motor, is provided at the level of the center of the forward edge of the roof opening between the parallel segments of the cable, said pinion pulling or squeezing both cables when actuated, whereby the rear end of the cover is pushed by the guide elements either beneath the fixed rearward part of the roof or pulled forward to close it, or, in a sliding and tilting roof, swiveled outward into a tilted position past the closed position. The exertion of the sliding forces on both sides of the sliding cover minimizes the danger or the cover tilting during sliding. A less advantageous feature of this design, however, is the fact that the required overlap of the two cables in the vicinity of the forward edge of the roof opening requires a relatively large amount of space for cable guidance and considerable lengths of cable and corresponding lengths for cable guide tubes are required. An electrial drive is relatively complicated in design, since a hollow shaft motor, extremely suitable by virtue of its design for driving a cable and requiring a small amount of space, requires an intermediate drive to drive two cables, as disclosed by German Offenlegungsschrift 18 01 436.
It is known from German Offenlegungsschrift 17 84 826 that a sliding cover can be slid by means of a single cable, said cable engaging the cover at its lengthwise central plane. However, the danger of tilting and resultant jamming of the cover during sliding is relatively great in this design, even if one cable end is not engaged directly with the cover but a carrier bridge, said brige being guided in lateral tracks mounted in the roof frame and connected by a swiveling mechanism with the rear end of the cover. In addition, a carrier bridge of this kind makes the design more expensive and reduces the clear opening in the roof in the case of a sliding cover whose near edge is also tiltable outward out of the plane of the roof. Moreover, when the cable is driven by a manually operated crank mechanism, a relatively long cable is required, since this cable must first be guided sufficiently rearward that the cover can be fully retracted, then guided laterally, and finally brought forward to the center of the front edge of the roof opening, since the hand crank must be mounted at this point.
An object of the invention is to provide a sunroof in which reliable and operationally safe operation of the cover is achieved by means of a single cable of the shortest length possible.
This object is achieved according to the invention by disposing the cable in such manner that it pulls on one guide element and pushes the other guide element in the same direction when the drive means is actuated.
In the design proposed according to the invention, no overlapping of the cables is required, thus ensuring the minimum possible space requirements an the minimum possible cable length. Nevertheless, the fact that the cable engages both sides of the cover ensures reliable and jam-free guidance. The use of a single cable makes it possible to drive the cover electrically by means of a simple hollow-shaft motor without additional drive stages.
To adjust the cover, especially when installing the latter, a device for adjusting one end relative to the guide element is provided, between at least one end of the cable and the corresponding guide element. This device also allows subsequent adjustment of the cover when the cable has lengthened somewhat following a long period of operation. The adjusting device in preferred emnbodiments includes a threaded rod which constitutes an extension of the cable end, said rod extending through a bore in the guide element and being lockable on both sides of the guide element against the latter by means of lock nuts.
An embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to the drawings, in conjunction with a sliding and tilting roof in which the cover can be pushed out of the closed position, both rearward beneath the fixed part of the roof and forward, with its rear edge tilted above the roof plane. However, the invention can be used for roofs which only slide, in which the cover can only be slid backward out of the closed position, and for tiltng roofs, in which the cover can only be tilted upward out of the closed position.
These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be come more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a single embodiment in accordance with the present invention.